1. Field of the Invention
An emergency rescue assembly designed to be used specifically for the removal of incapacitated and probably injured persons from an aerial basket of the type which is positioned in raised relation to the ground by a boom structure. The assembly may be stored in communicating relation to the aerial basket and the operators therein by direct mounting on the boom or alternately may be removed from its stored position for operative use in delivering an injured or incapacitated person to a position of safety, out of the aerial basket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Elbow type aerial basket which are attached to a boom structure for raising the baskets and the operators therein to a predetermined height above ground are quite common in many industries. However, particularly in the power or utility industry such devices are used through there mounting on trucks or like mobile vehicles wherein the repair of power lines and other electrical facilities necessitates the extensive use of such devices. The danger of exposure to high power lines and the possibility of injury to the repairman using such aerial baskets is well acknowledged in the industry. Accordingly, every precaution is generally utilized in protecting the repairman from such injury or alternately in accomplishing immediate access to treatment of such injured repairman.
One will recognize problem associated with providing immediate emergency treatment to such repair people, when injured, is there removal from the aerial basket, in which an injury may occur, in an effective and efficient manner. Currently, common type methods utilized merely involve the handling of the man by a plurality of others and manually removing him from the basket down to the ground or a position of safety. However, many situations dictate that the availability of a plurality of persons to aid in the removal of an injured or incapacitated repair person is frequently uncommon. It is therefore, an obvious need in this particular industry for the provision of some type of assembly or facility for the removal of an injured and/or incapacitated repair person from an aerial basket in a manner that would require only a minimum amount of time being consumed as well as a minimum number of people involved to aid in the removal of the injured person.
Generally the handling of invalids or people considered to be fully or partially incapacitated in various other applications other than utility repairman has been a long recognized problem. Numeroux types of devices have been developed particularly in the area of aiding invalid patients in their entry to or removal from beds or like facilities. Frequently, such prior art devices include numerous types of suspended slings or harnesses adapted to surround different portions of the body of the invalid or patient. In addition such type of support devices have been utilized in removing partially or totally incapacitated people from vehicles or various positions of rest. Patent to Wallstrom, U.S. Pat. No. 2,523,891 is a typical structure available and present in the prior art used specifically for the design of carrying invalids or placing such invalids in a variety of positions.
In addition, U.S. patent to Cossuth, U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,269, is specifically designed to rescue incapacitated people from various environment, including wrecked vehicles, bodies of water and the like.
Such prior art devices as set forth in the above noted patents are operable for certain applications, such devices are commonly suffering from inherent problems, based on a lack of versatility or adaptability to numerous other type situations. Accordingly, such devices are generally incapable when they are attempted to be adapted for caring or moving of invalid or inacapacitated people from or to positions fro which the specific structure involved was not specifically designed.
Similarly numerous of the prior art structures which have previously been patented and/or which are commercially available frequently include the use of a pulley, cable and/or block and tackle type arrangement wherein one or more people are used to hull, lift or reposition invalid patients and/or injured persons from one location to another. However, none of these devices are adaptable or suggest specific adaptation for application in the area of aiding and/or removing incapacitated injured repair people from an aerial basket during repair, installation or general exposure to power lines or the like.
Irrespective of the type of equipment or procedure utilized in removing an injured person from an aerial basket, a prime consideration should be the offering of life support procedures as soon as possible. It is well known that brain damage can result after approximately four minutes if resucitation is not offered to a non-breathing victim. Such is frequnetly the use with shock victims. Therefore it is imperative that such victims be treated with life support techniques as soon as possible and preferable within a three minute period from time of accident. This can generally only be accomplished after the victim has been removed from the aerial basket to a position of safety where such life support procedures can be applied. Problems of this type are clearly recognized by the industry in the November 1978 issue of Transmission and Distribution at pages 25 through 29.
Therefore there is an obvious need in the industry for a safety device which is capable of accomplishing efficient, quick, effective and safe removal of incapacitated lineman or other injured party from the location as set forth above.